My Six Convicts, a serio-comedy, was adapted from the autobiographical book by Donald Powell Wilson, titled “My Six Convicts: A Psychologist’s Three Years in Fort Leavenworth.”.
The film was adapted for the screen by Michael Blankfort and directed by Hugo Fregonese.
Rarely shown in revivals, the movie has almost faded into obscurity.
My Six Convicts is the true story of a prison psychologist (John Beal) and his attempts to get through to his incarcerated patients. While dealing with serious issues, the film was done as a comedy.
The film is faithful to the overall spirit of the book, but dramatic license was taken with the adaptation and certain events (e.g., the failed prison break and the resulting death of an innocent inmate) are fictional and were created for dramatic purposes.
Millard Mitchell won a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Connie.
Cast
Millard Mitchell as James Connie
Gilbert Roland as Punch Pinero
John Beal as “Doc”
Marshall Thompson as Blivens Scott
Alf Kjellin as Clem Randall
Henry Morgan as Dawson
Jay Adler as Steve Kopac
Regis Toomey as Dr. Gordon
Fay Roope as the Warden
Carleton Young as Captain Haggerty
John Marley as Knotty Johnson
Russ Conway as Dr. Hughes
Byron Foulger as Dr. Brint
Charles Buchinsky (Charles Bronson) as Jocko
Note:
TCM showed the movie on June 3, 2020.